Behind Writing The Letters of Glass

There’s a quiet alchemy behind The Letters of Glass: what began as an emotional fragment became a story grounded in scientific reality and deeply human. This isn’t a spoiler-filled summary—it’s an invitation to step inside the process, to see the emotional heartbeat, scientific research, and hidden truths behind the novel.

The Letters of Glass is a story about remembering—and forgetting.

At the center is Kassie Lynn Hale, a once-vibrant woman whose world begins to distort under the weight of a mysterious, creeping loss. The novel doesn’t start with clarity; it begins in the fog. The early signs are subtle: misplaced names, skipped appointments, emotional outbursts no one can explain. Her daughters, her ex-husband, and her caregiver all notice, but each reacts in different ways—denial, overprotection, frustration, grief.

Told from multiple perspectives, the novel unfolds as a mosaic of love, regret, and hope. As Kassie’s memories fragment, letters and journal entries become anchors, offering glimpses of the past and reminders of identity. What emerges is not just a narrative of illness, but a love story between mother and daughters, between former spouses, and between a woman and the self she’s desperately trying to hold onto.

The story’s emotional depth lies in the small moments: a daughter brushing her mother’s hair, a forgotten birthday, a letter Kassie can no longer remember writing—these quiet, ordinary acts pulse with meaning. The book explores how memory loss doesn’t just erase—it reshapes, revealing truths long buried and connections that defy time.

Scientific Research That Grounded the Novel

Alzheimer’s disease currently affects over 6 million Americans, and that number is expected to rise significantly (Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 2023). In July 2023, the FDA granted full traditional approval to lecanemab (Leqembi), marking the first disease-modifying treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s. Clinical trials demonstrated that lecanemab slowed cognitive decline by 27% over 18 months, though it carries serious risks, including brain swelling and bleeding (Joszt, 2023).

Incorporating this evolving scientific landscape was critical. The story reflects the emotional tension of emerging treatments: they offer hope, but also uncertainty. The novel explores the use of donepezil, a commonly prescribed cholinesterase inhibitor. It presents current debates around access to newer therapies, many of which remain financially or geographically out of reach for patients (FDA, 2023).

Rather than serving as a medical lecture, the science is interwoven into the characters’ lives through hesitant conversations with doctors, confused medication schedules, and moments of clarity that leave everyone asking, “Is this treatment working, or is it just a good day?”

Memory as Literary Structure

Cognitive neuroscience reveals that our brains are wired for story. We remember narratives more vividly than isolated facts (Georgiou et al., 2025). In a large-scale study, participants reconstructed scrambled story sequences into coherent plots, suggesting that memory relies more on meaning and structure than detail (Georgiou et al., 2025).

This inspired the structure of The Letters of Glass. The novel doesn’t follow a strictly linear timeline. Instead, it unfolds through letters, fragmented diary entries, and emotionally resonant scenes, mirroring memory. The reader combines Kassie’s life like she does: from moments, images, and the emotional truths they carry.

Building Realistic Characters

Kassie’s condition doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and neither does the story. The people around her—her daughters, her former husband Jonathan, her caregiver Marisol—each bring their history, love, and pain to the table.

To write Kassie authentically, I consulted clinicians, caregivers, and families who have lived through dementia diagnoses. I learned that cognitive decline doesn’t always follow a neat line. There are good days and terrible ones. There’s resistance, fear, flashes of humor, and even joy—that complexity needed to be on the page.

Each character responds to her illness differently: denial, overcompensation, anger, or grace. Marisol brings a cultural perspective, showing caregiving's deeply personal and emotional labor. Her sons, particularly Diego, represent the quiet love that surrounds illness in unexpected ways.

This isn’t just Kassie’s story. It’s theirs, too.

The Writing Process

The novel began with a single letter—a handwritten note Kassie might have written to her younger self. That letter became a seed and grew a garden of memory, grief, confusion, and hope.

I didn’t set out to write a “medical” novel. But the more I learned, the more I knew this story had to live at the intersection of science and soul. I balanced fictional narrative with factual accuracy—not by overloading scenes with information, but by grounding the emotional truths in medical realism.

This story was also born from personal experience with loss. While Kassie is not based on one person, her fear, fragmented memories, and strength are drawn from truths I’ve witnessed and felt.

Challenges and Breakthroughs

Writing this book was emotionally draining. There were days I cried after finishing a chapter, days I walked away from the manuscript entirely. But there were also breakthroughs—scenes that came out in one breathless burst, where the emotional core felt undeniable.

One of the most challenging moments was writing the ending. I didn’t want a clean conclusion, because Alzheimer’s doesn’t offer that. I wanted something that felt honest, layered, and emotionally real. In the end, ambiguity offered the most truthful resolution.

A Note to Readers

Thank you for stepping into this world if you’ve picked up The Letters of Glass.

This novel may leave you aching. But I hope it also leaves you with something else: compassion. For those navigating memory loss. For caregivers. For families who don’t know what to say or how to help. And for anyone trying to piece together who they are when the mirror no longer reflects the person they remember.

May we all be remembered with love.

References

Food and Drug Administration. (2023). FDA converts novel Alzheimer’s disease treatment to traditional approval [Press release]. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-converts-novel-alzheimers-disease-treatment-traditional-approval

Georgiou, A., Can, T., Katkov, M., & Tsodyks, M. (2025). Large-scale study of human memory for meaningful narratives: Comprehension enables reconstruction despite fragmentation. Learning & Memory, 32(2), Article a054043. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.03.565484

Joszt, L. (2023). FDA grants full approval for Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab. The American Journal of Managed Care. https://www.ajmc.com/view/fda-grants-full-approval-for-alzheimer-drug-lecanemab